Cancer breakthroughs: Here come drugs that block tumors

Cancer breakthroughs in June have stunned the medical world and cleared the way for development of drugs that halt cancerous growths in their tracks and prevent their spreading. The new science gives millions of people suffering from the disease hope and a new tool to fight for their lives.

A summary of the new research from the University College London:

Researchers say they’ve observed for the first time how cancer spreads throughout the body and metastasizes.

Cancerous cells tend to follow healthy cells through the bloodstream. The infected cell sniffs out healthy cells by sensing the chemical makeup of its environment.

The discovery means drugs that disrupt this interaction would essentially prevent (the spread of cancer cells).

It will take several years before scientists have a handle on a therapy based on the research.

Breast Cancer Breakthrough

Another major breakthrough brings hope to breast cancer patients. Researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute announced a drug already on the market in Europe, approved to treat osteoporosis, can also stop late-stage breast cancer.

The drug bazedoxifene binds to the estrogen receptor and interferes with its activity and degrades the receptor to get rid of it.

The drug affects cancerous cells dependent on estrogen and cells that have developed a resistance to the most frequently-used drugs designed to treat breast cancer.